Orioles All-Star center fielder Adam Jones hit a solo homer in the first inning Thursday against the White Sox, giving him 30 homers and 100 RBI on the season.

Three innings later, he reached another little milestone: he walked for the 20th time in 567 at-bats.

Barring a stunning turn of events, Jones is about to become the 57th player (37th different) in major league history to hit 30 homers and finish with more homers than walks. Adrian Beltre was the last to do it, finishing with 32 homers and 25 walks for the Rangers in 2011. Alfonso Soriano has done it three times, most recently in 2007. The only other active player to have done it was Ryan Braun in his rookie year (34 HR, 29 BB). Juan Gonzalez did it four times.

The lack of walks certainly hasn’t stopped Jones from being a very valuable player these last couple of years. He’s currently batting .295, so his OBP (.326 at the moment) isn’t too bad. This is his second straight 30-homer season after he hit 32 last year, and he’s well on his way to scoring 100 runs again (92 right now).

Walks are overrated. Jones would rather swing the bat and drive in runs, than just get on base and HOPE someone else can knock him in. Just as RBI’s are dependent on the hitters in front of you getting on base, walks and subsequently, runs scored, are dependent on the hitters behind you knocking you in. How many fewer runs would the Orioles score if Jones was more concerned about being the potential first out in a double play, than hitting home runs or driving his teammates in?